A family doctor has been found guilty of carelessly giving patients addictive drugs.

Dr Jayanti Kumar Ghosh, of Herring Gull Close, Blyth, had denied inappropriately prescribing listed drugs to patients as well as tranquillisers to a pregnant woman and a 16-year-old boy.

He had claimed he was on a mission to try to rid the town of its drugs image, but a hearing of the General Medical Council in London today found him guilty of professional misconduct and he faces being struck off.

The 64-year-old who worked at the Bondicar Medical Centre in Blyth had admitted many of the 28 charges of misconduct, but denied his prescribing had been `inappropriate' and said it was `responsible'.

During the three-week hearing the council heard how a teenage patient was admitted to hospital with an overdose the day after seeing Dr Ghosh for the first time.

He had been prescribed large quantities of the tranquillisers diazepam, temazepam and dihydrocodeine.